Lacrosse players invited back
By John Stevenson, The Herald-Sun
January 4, 2007 12:09 am
DURHAM -- Duke opened the door Wednesday to the return "in good standing" of student-athletes Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, who were removed from school after being charged in the controversial lacrosse sexual-assault case last spring.
It wasn't clear Wednesday when or if they would return to Duke, their attorneys said.
The invitation came Tuesday in letters to Finnerty and Seligmann from Larry Moneta, Duke's vice president for student affairs.
The spring semester begins next week.
Lawyers Wade Smith and Bill Cotter, representing Finnerty, described the development as "a defining moment in Duke's institutional history. It speaks to the integrity of [the school's] mission and its belief in the innocence of Collin Finnerty."
Cotter said that while Finnerty has been invited to return, he hasn't decided anything.
According to Cotter, Finnerty has been taking classes at Long Island's Hofstra University near his Garden City, N.Y., home. He works with an agency called "Tuesday's Children," which helps children who lost family members on Sept. 11.
Smith said Finnerty appreciates Duke's invitation and considers it a vindication. It sends a message that, "He is a person who ought to be welcomed on a university campus and welcomed by his classmates and teammates," Smith said.
Seligmann attorney James P. Cooney III said that his client, who lives in New Jersey, also is unsure when or if he will return to Duke.
"He's going to have to consider his options," said Cooney, adding that Seligmann now attends a hometown community college while doing volunteer work.
The invitations were "the right and fair thing to do," Duke President Richard Brodhead said Wednesday. "Although the students still face serious charges and larger issues require Duke's collective attention, the circumstances in this case have changed substantially, and it is appropriate that the students have an opportunity to continue their education."
The invitations came roughly two weeks after Brodhead publicly questioned District Attorney Mike Nifong's handling of the sex-assault case.
The Seligmann family thanked Brodhead in a prepared statement Wednesday.
"We also are glad that Duke University has now made it clear that Reade is welcome to return to the university and look forward to the day that he can return to living a normal life and continuing his education as a full-time student," the statement said.
They added, "By now it should be plain to any person who has any objectivity that the charges against Reade are transparently false. Reade is absolutely innocent and we will continue to fight this injustice. We are not going to rest until Reade's good name has been cleared and those who have been responsible for this injustice have been held fully accountable."
Finnerty and Seligmann were removed from school after being charged with kidnapping, raping and sodomizing an exotic dancer during an off-campus lacrosse party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.
The third charged player, David Evans, graduated in May.
Last week, prosecutor Nifong dismissed rape charges against the three, but let stand charges of kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense. The defendants are free on bond.
Nifong could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The case led to the resignation of longtime coach Mike Pressler and the cancellation of remaining games in the 2006 lacrosse season.
In his letter to Seligmann on Tuesday, Duke's Moneta wrote: "As circumstances have evolved in this extraordinary case, we have attempted to balance recognition of the gravity of legal charges with the presumption of your innocence. Now with the approach of a new term, we believe that circumstances warrant that we strike this balance differently.
"Reade, it is my sincere hope that you will choose to return for the spring semester," Moneta added. "Please let me know how I may support you during this time."
Lawyers Smith and Cotter said that Finnerty, likewise, was informed in writing this week that his status had been switched from administrative leave to "student in good standing."
Cotter predicted Finnerty would have no trouble readjusting to Duke and would be well received by others, despite enormous furor surrounding the sex-assault case.
Readjusting to the Bull City as a whole might be a tougher nut for Finnerty to crack, Cotter said.
"Collin is innocent of these charges," he said. "It's stunning to him that he's even been accused. He's going to have mixed feelings about Durham. How could he not? He was charged here with a crime he didn't commit. It's put him and his family, and the other kids and their families, through hell for months now.
"But he's not the kind of guy to dwell on negative feelings," Cotter said. "He has a positive outlook. He's going to move forward and do well."
Information about the invitations to Finnerty and Seligmann were included in a memorandum from Moneta to Brodhead, which Duke released Wednesday.
"Our two students were placed on interim suspension when they were indicted last spring. In late summer, Duke modified the suspension to an administrative leave, which allowed the students to continue to make academic progress while not present at the university. Both have completed their coursework from last spring and are currently in good academic standing," Moneta wrote.
He said that, under current circumstances, further leaves of absence for Finnerty and Seligmann "would do unwarranted harm to their educational progress."
But if the two are found guilty of kidnapping and sex-offense charges, "Needless to say, [they] would remain subject to further disciplinary action," Moneta wrote.
Several Duke students camping out in "Krzyzewskiville" outside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday to get good seats to February's Duke-UNC basketball game agreed that Finnerty and Seligmann would be welcomed back -- something many said wouldn't happen at other schools.
"Elsewhere, they'd be known only as the Duke lacrosse players, but Duke's going to make more of an effort [to make them comfortable] than any other school," said student Sarah Rabiner.
"These are two young men that we would welcome back with open arms," new Duke lacrosse coach John Danowski said Wednesday.
Danowski said he'd spoken to Finnerty and left a phone message for Seligmann.
"I spoke to Collin briefly and just let him know that I'm there if he needs any kind of support or whatever he needs," Danowski said. "It would be the same thing for Reade."
Duke begins practice for the 2007 lacrosse season Jan. 27 and has its opening game Feb. 24.
Staff writers BriAnne Dopart and Bryan Strickland contributed to this report.
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-805417.cfm
City murders down but ...
BY BRIANNE DOPART, The Herald-Sun
January 4, 2007 12:09 am
DURHAM -- The Bull City's murder rate decreased by almost half in 2006 -- but don't expect the mayor to brag about it.
Mayor Bill Bell said Wednesday the city's recent rise in violent crime -- third-quarter statistics show it's at a four-year high -- minimizes the seemingly impressive fact that 18 fewer lives were claimed by violence in 2006 (19) than in 2005 (37).
"We're not beating our chests because we had 14 instead of zero," Bell said. His use of the number 14 is derived by omitting four of the 2006 cases because they were ruled justifiable homicides and a fifth -- which occurred Dec. 29 -- tentatively has been labeled self-defense but remains "under investigation," according to police spokesman Cpl. David Addison.
City Manager Patrick Baker echoed the mayor's sentiments. He said he would only be satisfied when the murder rate hit "zero."
Bell said he and the City Council made note of a spike in violent crime after the Police Department's second-quarter report showed a 35 percent increase in violent crimes -- from 678 in the first six months of 2005 to 917 in 2006.
At the time, Bell demanded that police look into the sharp rise, he said. Third-quarter statistics showed no appreciable improvement. The number of violent crimes showed a 32 percent increase over the first nine months of 2005.
The Police Department has yet to compile its 12-month violent crime report for 2006.
Baker and City Councilman Thomas Stith are concerned about the dramatic rise in violent crime during the year. They said it would lead to more violence in the year to come.
"A continuing increase in violent crime provides an environment for a continuing increase in homicides," Stith said.
Asked to put the drop in homicides in context with the increase in violence, Stith said he would be interested to learn how many gunshot wounds were reported this year to see if "in fact we've just been blessed with good medical facilities in Durham" that have saved the lives of wounded individuals who might otherwise have died and become homicide statistics.
Baker, however, argued that Durham has long benefited from quality medical services. He said it's unfair to attribute a rise in homicides to the incompetence of law enforcement while linking a dip in killings to good medical care.
While opinions may differ on who or what caused the 2006 decrease in homicides, Bell said he is extremely pleased with the job law enforcement has done solving the bulk of the year's murders.
Arrests have been made in 11 of the city's homicides (the four justifiable shootings are considered to be "exceptionally cleared", according to the Police Department's published reports) and arrests have been made in two of Durham County's three homicides. Those slayings all took place outside city limits.
Investigators with the Durham County Sheriff's Office have said they are zeroing in on suspects in the most recent -- and third -- county homicide, the slaying of Jose Luis Sifuente Castillo.
Despite differing perceptions of how violence should be handled in the city, Bell and Stith agreed the Police Department should do a better job releasing its crime statistics.
Currently, reports presented to City Council include charges illustrating "violent crimes" and "aggravated assaults" but make no mention of assaults involving guns.
Bell said he has asked for better statistics, and hoped a new crime analyst hired recently by the department would be able to present a more detailed, accurate picture.
Jim Soukup of Durham's 911 Center did not respond to a call regarding the number of gunshot wounds reported during 2006. But in an earlier interview, he said more than 2,700 reports of shots fired had been received in 2006. Duke Hospital and Durham Regional Hospital do not release gunshot information because of privacy laws.
While Bell said a possible solution to the continued increase in violence might come in the form of security cameras he hopes to have installed in the city within the next two months, Stith said the answer to the city's growing problem with violence would come in the form of new Police Department leadership.
Police Chief Steve Chalmers has announced his retirement and City Manager Patrick Baker has said he hopes to have a replacement in place by mid-August.
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-805415.cfm
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